Gerald Raymond McMaster (born 9 March 1953, in

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

) is a curator, artist, and author and a Plains Cree member of the Siksika Nation.Abbot, Larry
Gerald McMaster: Plains Cree.
''A Time of Visions.'' (retrieved 20 Nov 2009) McMaster is Professor Emeritus of Critical Curatorial Studies and Indigenous Visual Culture Studies. He is a former Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and was director of the Wapatah Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge at

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public university, public art school, art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park (neighbourh ...

. He was formerly the adjunct curator at the Remai Modern in

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Early life and education

Gerald McMaster was born in 1953 and grew up on the Red Pheasant First Nation reserve in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. His father is Blackfoot, while his mother is Plains Cree. He says he grew up listening to the ''

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'' and '' Hopalong Cassidy'' on the radio, while avidly reading western

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s – all of which would later influence his art. McMaster says, "I've been an urban Indian since the age of nine. I've attended art school in the United States, trained in the Western tradition; yet I am referred to as an 'Indian' artist. I have danced and sung in the traditional

powwow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native Americans in the United States, Native American and First Nations in Canada, First Nations communities. Inaugurated in 1923, powwows today are an opportunity fo ...

style of Northern Plains, yet my musical tastes are global ..." McMaster studied art at the Institute of American Indian Arts in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, from 1973 to 1975. He earned his BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. He earned his master's degree in Anthropology and Sociology at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

,Ryan, 297 and continued his studies at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

.Newlands, 210

Artwork

McMaster draws and paints with humour and an ironic juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary pop culture elements. Identities, fluid and multiple, are central to his art practice. In his piece ''Eclectic Baseball'', "traditional Plains Indian symbols of warfare and sacred ceremony were freely mixed with symbols and actual equipment of contemporary baseball". One of his best known series is ''The cowboy/Indian Show''. Hide painting,

pictograph A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

s, and

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s inspire his methods of representation. He works in oil and acrylic. In 1995, he ceased being a full-time artist in order to devote more time to curating, critical theory, and writing.

Career

From 1977 to 1981, McMaster directed the Indian Art Program and was an instructor at the First Nations University of Canada (formerly known as Saskatchewan Indian Federated College) at the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

in Saskatchewan. Beginning in 1981, he was curator of Contemporary Indian Art at the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

in Ottawa. McMaster has curated a number of thought-provoking contemporary Native art shows, including ''INDIGENA'' at the

. In 2011, he curated with Ingo Hessel ''Inuit Modern'' at the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

in Toronto. In 1995, McMaster curated Edward Poitras's exhibition at the '' Biennale di Venezia''. In 2005, Poitras, of Gordon First Nation, was the first aboriginal artist to represent Canada in the ''Biennale di Venezia''. In 2012, McMaster was the co-artistic director of the '' Biennale of Sydney.'' He served as the director's special assistant and deputy assistant director for cultural resources at the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from 2000 to 2004. He worked with the permanent collections there, as well as curating the shows, ''First American Art'' in 2004 and ''New Tribe/New York'' in 2005."Native Networks: Gerald McMaster."
''National Museum of the American Indian.'' (retrieved 20 Nov 2009) He was curator of

Canadian art Canadian art refers to the visual arts, visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of ...

at the

from 2004 until 2012, when he was succeeded by Andrew Hunter. In 2018, together with David Fortin, McMaster co-curated the "Unceded: Voices of the Land" exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale, which featured the work of Indigenous architects from Canada. In 2020, McMaster publishe
Iljuwas Bill Reid: Life & Work
through the Art Canada Institute. The book is one of the first comprehensive documentations of the artist's storied career and affinity for his indigenous heritage. McMaster curated the exhibition ''"Postcommodity: Time Holds All the Answers"'' by the interdisciplinary arts collective Postcommodity, featuring Cristóbal Martínez and Kade L. Twist. The exhibition was on view at Remai Modern from 2021 to 2022. In 2022, McMaster was the lead curator of the "Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity" exhibition held at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. This exhibition featured work by artists from across three continents: Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Couzyn van Heuvelen,

Máret Ánne Sara Máret Ánne Sara (born 1983) is a Sámi- Norwegian artist and author. Her work explores political and ecological issues affecting the Sámi and Indigenous communities of northern Norway. Career Sara's art focuses on Sámi identity and liveli ...

, , , Morzaniel Iramari, Leandro Lima & Gisela Motta, Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe, Pia Arke, and Outi Pieski. A book by the same name, ''Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity'', was edited by McMaster and published in 2023 and includes a major contribution by him.

Awards and honors

* 2005 - National Aboriginal Achievement Award. * 2006 -

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. * 2014 - Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. * 2017 - Tier 1

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Indigenous Visual Culture and Curatorial Practice. * 2019 - Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. * 2021 -

Award for Distinguished Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. * 2022 - Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts - Outstanding Contribution Award.

Exhibitions

* "In the Shadow of the Sun." Ottawa:

, 1988. * "Indigena: Contemporary Native Perspectives." Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1992. * "Venice Bienelle - Edward Poitras." Venice, 1995. * "Plains Indian Ledger Drawings." New York City: Drawing Center, 1996. * "Reservation X: The Power of Place." Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1997 * "Norval Morrisseau/Copper Thunderbird: Draw and Tell: Lines of Transformation." New York City: Drawing Center, 2000. * "First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of American Indian Art." New York City: National Museum of the American Indian, 2004. * "New Tribe New York." New York City: National Museum of the American Indian, 2005 to 2006. * "Inuit Modern." Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010. * "Biennale of Sydney." Sydney, 2012. * "Before and After the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes." New York City: National Museum of the American Indian, 2014. * "The Faraway Nearby: Photographs of Canada from The New York Times Photo Archive." Toronto: The Image Centre, 2017. * "Venice Architecture Biennale - Unceded: Voices in the Land." Venice, 2018. * "Peripheral Vision(s)." Hamilton: McMaster Museum of Art, 2019 to 2020. * "Postcommodity: Time Holds All the Answers." Saskatoon: Remai Modern, 2021 to 2022. * "Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity." Toronto: The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, 2022.

Selected published works

* McMaster, Gerald, Jennifer S. H. Brown, Clara Harfittay, and Shirley J. R. Madill. ''Robert Houle: Indians from A to Z''. Goose Lane Editions, 1990. . * McMaster, Gerald and Lee-Ann Martin. ''Indigena. Contemporary native perspectives in Canadian art''. 1992. ASIN B0010YFFSC. * McMaster, Gerald. ''Edward Poitras: Canada Xlvi Biennale Di Venezia''. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995. . * McMaster, Gerald. ''Mary Longman: Traces''. Exhibition catalogue. Kamloops, BC: Kamloops Art Gallery, 1996. * McMaster, Gerald. ''Jeffery Thomas: Portraits from the Dancing Grounds''. Exhibition catalogue. Ottawa: Ottawa Art Gallery, 1996 * McMaster, Gerald. "Museums and Galleries as Sites for Artistic Intervention", In ''The Subjects of Art History: Historical Objects in Contemporary Perspectives''. Eds. Mark A. Cheetham, Michael Ann Holly, and Keith Moxey. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 250–261. 1998. * McMaster, Gerald. ''The New Tribe: Critical Perspectives and Practices in Aboriginal Contemporary Art''. Amsterdam: Acedemisch Proefschrift, University of Amsterdam, 1999. ASIN B001ELWQLK. * McMaster, Gerald. ''Reservation X''. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999. . * McMaster, Gerald and Clifford E. Trafzer, eds. ''Native Universe: Voices of Indian America: Native American Tribal Leaders, Writers, Scholars, and Story Tellers''. National Geographic, 2004. .Review: * McMaster, Gerald, Bruce Bernstein, Kathleen Ash-Milby, eds. ''First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of American Indian Art''. Washington DC: National Museum of the American Indian, 2004. . * McMaster, Gerald and Joe Baker, ed. ''Remix: New Modernities in a Post-Indian World''. Washington DC: National Museum of the American Indian, 2007. . * McMaster, Gerald.
Iljuwas Bill Reid: Life & Work
'. Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2020. . * McMaster, Gerald and Nina Vincent, eds. Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity. Goose Lane Editions, 2023. .

Notes

References

*Newlands, Anne. ''Canadian Paintings, Prints and Drawings''. Richmond Hill, Ontario: Firefly Books, 2007. . *Ryan, Allan J. ''The Trickster Shift: Humour and Irony in Contemporary Native Art''. Victoria: University of British Columbia Press, 1999. .
G. R. Mcmaster, 1953–
at the

''Album Academicum'' website

External links

Gerald McMaster's art
, on Britesites

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMaster, Gerald 1953 births Living people First Nations painters Artists from Ontario Canadian art curators Indigenous curators of the Americas Members of the Order of Canada 20th-century First Nations writers Carleton University alumni University of Amsterdam alumni Institute of American Indian Arts alumni Indspire Awards 21st-century First Nations writers Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners Red Pheasant Cree Nation Siksika Nation people